Lennox Urges Commonwealth Politicians To Step Up Fight Against Aids

Singer and activist Annie Lennox marked World Aids Day on Thursday (01Dec11) by urging politicians from the British Commonwealth step up and do more to tackle the disease.The human rights campaigner told international leaders they needed to come up with a better plan of action to fight the spread of Aids during a conference at the Houses of Parliament in London. And Lennox, a United Nations Aids ambassador, insisted that altering the way people view the deadly illness is key to encouraging those infected with the early stages of the disease to get proper treatment. She tells the U.K.'s Sky News, "I think stigma is everywhere and I think that's one of the biggest challenges anyone has to face when it comes to Hiv, whether it's in a developing country or whether it is here. "I've met people here (in Britain) who are Hiv positive, who can't disclose their status because they are too afraid of the impact it will have. At the moment we have had 33 million people die because of Aids. The scientific discoveries are proving that we can actually make a huge difference if people can get access to treatment." The parliamentary conference was organised by officials at the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (Cpa) UK.